Genichi spent two full hours moving through the city at night.
His shadow stretched beneath the streetlights. From time to time, several pitch-black figures emerged from it and silently slipped into the deeper darkness.
Those shadows roamed throughout the city, searching for any vengeful spirit worth his attention.
They found nothing.
The strongest vengeful spirit was curled up inside an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city. A chilling presence radiated from its body, making it resemble a mass of solidified darkness.
Its strength was roughly equivalent to a Mid-class Devil.
Genichi stood outside the factory and gazed at the spirit without the slightest ripple of emotion.
Back when he had still been a Low-class Devil, a Mid-class Devil might have interested him.
Now, however, he was already an Ultimate-class Devil.
Devouring a vengeful spirit of this level would barely improve his strength. It would be like pouring a cup of water into the ocean, not even enough to create more than a few ripples.
He turned and left.
The shadows followed behind him, silently merging with the night.
Genichi returned to the street where his apartment was located. The streetlights cast a dim yellow glow, while several drunken men laughed loudly outside a convenience store.
Everything was normal. Everything was peaceful.
That was simply how this world worked. It had vengeful spirits, ordinary people, and the occasional supernatural incident, but no one capable of truly fighting back against the darkness.
He had once been an ordinary person here as well. He had gone to school, returned home, eaten, and slept, living the same life as everyone else.
Then came the night when he was first transported to the arena and watched another version of himself die before his eyes.
Genichi stopped outside his apartment, inserted his key into the lock, and gently turned it.
The door opened.
The living room lights were on, and someone lay asleep on the sofa.
One of her hands dangled over its edge, her fingertips nearly touching the floor.
Her other hand rested on her stomach, rising and falling gently with each breath.
Her legs were curled up, and her skirt had slipped to her thighs, revealing a stretch of fair skin.
She was sleeping deeply, her breathing soft and even. Her lips were slightly parted, making her look like a lazy cat.
An empty teacup and an opened box of pastries rested on the coffee table. She had clearly been waiting for quite some time.
Genichi gazed at her as complicated emotions surged through his heart.
Haruno, his benefactor, his sugar mama, and one of the few people in this world he was willing to trust.
He had given her a Schrift, along with power and the ability to protect herself.
Even so, she was still the same. She had entered his apartment without knocking or waiting for permission, then fallen asleep on the sofa while waiting for him to come home.
Genichi walked over and sat beside her.
The sofa sank slightly beneath his weight. Haruno's brow furrowed, and then her eyes slowly opened.
At first, her gaze was hazy with sleep, but it quickly became alert.
The moment she saw Genichi, a brilliant smile appeared on her face, as bright and radiant as sunlight suddenly breaking through the clouds.
"You're back?"
Her voice was hoarse from sleep, yet filled with joy.
She sat up and leaned against Genichi's leg.
Then she raised a hand and tidied her hair, her movements languid yet graceful.
Genichi looked at her.
"Why are you here?"
Haruno did not answer. She merely stood, stepped in front of him, and wrapped her arms around him.
Her arms encircled his waist, and she pressed her face against his chest, resting her entire body against him.
Her body was warm and soft. He could even feel her heartbeat through their clothes.
"Where did you go?"
Her muffled voice came from against his chest.
"For a moment, I felt as though you had left this world."
Genichi's body stiffened slightly.
Left this world?
She had sensed it?
He lowered his head and looked at the top of the woman's head.
Her short hair was slightly tousled, and the strands brushed against his chin, making it itch.
Was it because of the Schrift?
He had granted her power and engraved a Schrift upon her, placing her life and death within his grasp.
In exchange, her soul had formed a connection with his own.
That connection allowed him to sense her location, condition, and emotions.
Apparently, it worked both ways. She could sense him as well.
He simply had not expected her perception to be so clear that she could even tell when he had left this world.
Genichi was silent for a moment before wrapping his arms around her.
He tightened his embrace, holding her close and resting his chin atop her head.
"There are some things I should tell you."
His voice was calm.
Haruno raised her head from his embrace. Her eyes gleamed like two black gemstones.
"What things?"
Genichi looked at her and began his story.
He started with his first journey to another world. He told her about the Anime Crossover World filled with vengeful spirits, his first time being transported to the arena, and how he had watched another version of himself die before his eyes.
He told her about the High School DxD World, the Boosted Gear, how Rias had reincarnated him as a Devil, and the endless struggles between Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils.
He told her about the DanMachi World, the monsters in the Dungeon, the gods and their Falna, and how he had gone from an ordinary person to Level Six in only a few months.
He told her about the Women's Fiction World and the version of himself who had been abandoned by his parents, betrayed by his wife, and treated as a tool by everyone around him. He explained how he had avenged that version of himself and slaughtered every last member of the Hino family.
He told her about the Bleach World, hybrid Quincies, Yhwach's Auswählen, and the version of himself who had nearly died by the side of the road.
Haruno listened quietly the entire time, nestled in his arms while her finger unconsciously traced circles across his chest.
Her expression shifted from surprise to shock, from shock to anger, then from anger to heartache. Finally, it became something complicated that Genichi could not quite understand.
When he spoke about the biased parents in the Women's Fiction World, the treacherous wife, and the doctors who had accepted bribes, her brows knitted tightly together.
"How can an entire world be that brain-dead?"
Her voice was filled with disbelief and a trace of anger.
"Were those people really human? They weren't just monsters wearing human skin?"
Genichi could not help laughing.
"I thought the same thing."
Haruno raised her head and looked at him.
"What about now? Why did you return to this world?"
Genichi was silent for a moment before answering.
"I've already become an Ultimate-class Devil in the High School DxD World, but becoming a Satan requires a vacant Satan position. I can't make that happen, so I came back to see whether I could break through in this world instead."
Haruno's eyes lit up.
"Ultimate-class Devil? How strong is that?"
Genichi considered the question.
"I could probably destroy a city."
Haruno's smile stiffened for an instant, then became even brighter.
"Doesn't that mean you're invincible now?"
Genichi shook his head.
"Not even close. The High School DxD World has Satans, Archangels, and the Governor General of the Fallen Angels. Those are the truly powerful ones. Even they aren't the strongest beings in that world. I still have a long way to go."
Haruno fell silent for a moment before sitting up in his embrace and turning to face him.
Her expression was serious, without any of her usual languid playfulness or cunning.
"Genichi, what are you planning to do?"
Genichi looked at her.
"I'll stay in this world for a while and see if there's any chance of breaking through. If there isn't, I'll try another world."
"Another world?"
Haruno's eyes lit up again.
"Like the DanMachi World? It has gods, the Dungeon, and all those adventurers. It must be fascinating. And the Women's Fiction World too. The people there sound infuriatingly stupid, but I still want to see what kind of world could produce people like that."
She paused, regret creeping into her voice.
"What a shame. If only I could travel between worlds too."
Haruno rested in Genichi's arms like a lazy cat.
Her hair spilled across his arm, the strands tickling his skin.
One finger traced slow circles across his chest, one after another, as though she were playing a melody only she could hear.
Her breath was warm and gentle against his neck, carrying a faint fragrance.
Genichi looked down at her. Her black eyes gazed up at him, shifting like two unfathomably deep pools.
The corners of her lips curved upward in a faintly coquettish smile, an expression Genichi rarely saw on her face.
Haruno, the eldest daughter of the Yukinoshita family and a formidable businesswoman who dominated the corporate world, acted like an affectionate young woman whenever she was with him.
"Genichi."
Her voice was as soft as cotton candy.
"Could you give Yukino a chance?"
Genichi paused.
He naturally understood what Haruno meant. She wanted him to give Yukino, her proud and aloof younger sister, an opportunity to obtain supernatural power.
Yukino's face appeared in his mind. Her expression was nearly always impassive, her gaze sharp, and every word she spoke seemed to carry thorns.
She was the student he had infuriated so thoroughly that her entire body had trembled, yet she had still forced herself to remain calm.
Genichi shook his head.
"Are you sure?"
His voice was calm, though it contained a trace of hesitation.
Haruno nodded, continuing to trace circles across his chest.
"Yes, I'm sure. Yukino is intelligent and capable. If she had power, she could accomplish a great many things."
Genichi remained silent for a moment before asking a question.
"Can you guarantee that Yukino won't become a blade in someone else's hand?"
Haruno's finger stopped.
"Can you guarantee she won't let someone exploit her so-called sense of justice and turn her into their tool?"
Haruno's expression stiffened.
Her finger remained suspended against his chest, no longer moving.
A complicated light flashed through her eyes. There was hesitation, concern, and a trace of guilt that even she had not noticed.
If she did not understand her own sister, she might have confidently declared that Yukino would never allow such a thing to happen.
But Haruno understood her far too well.
Yukino had been stubborn and inflexible since childhood, always adhering to her own standards of justice.
She despised hypocrisy, compromise, and anyone who abandoned their principles for personal gain.
She believed she was right. She believed her judgment could not be mistaken. She believed that as long as she upheld justice, she could change the world.
But the world was never that simple.
Haruno remembered how Yukino had once defended a classmate and confronted their teacher, only for the classmate to turn against her and accuse her of meddling in matters that did not concern her.
She remembered how Yukino had insisted on exposing a school scandal during middle school. The student council isolated her, her classmates ostracized her, and she eventually hid alone in the library and cried.
More recently, Yukino had established the Service Club at school because she wanted to help people in need. Yet her insistence on teaching people to solve their own problems instead of simply giving them what they wanted had driven away countless students.
She was too direct, too sharp, and completely incapable of taking a more tactful approach.
What would someone like her become after obtaining power?
She would use her power to uphold what she considered justice, punish what she considered evil, and correct what she regarded as unfair.
But could she distinguish true justice from a convincing lie?
Could she see through the schemes hidden beneath the surface?
Could she avoid being manipulated by people more intelligent and cunning than herself?
Haruno could not guarantee it.
Genichi looked at her conflicted expression and already knew the answer.
"If you want me to grant Yukino power, she'll have to form a blood pact with me and drink the blood wine. Once she does..."
He did not finish, but Haruno clearly understood what he meant.
Once Yukino drank the blood wine, her life and death would rest in Genichi's hands.
If she betrayed him or did something he could not tolerate, he could reclaim the power he had granted her at any moment.
Once she lost that power, she would die.
It was not a threat. It was simply a rule.
The rules governing his Schrift could not be changed.
Haruno deflated.
Her finger slid away from his chest, and her entire body sagged against him as though all her strength had been drained.
She closed her eyes. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her lips pressed into a thin line.
Genichi could feel her heart beating much faster than usual.
"Yukino would be better off remaining an ordinary person."
Genichi's voice was soft and comforting.
"This world isn't that dangerous."
It was the truth.
Yukino could not see vengeful spirits. As far as she was concerned, those things did not even exist.
She only needed to live like an ordinary person. She could go to school, return home, eat, sleep, occasionally argue with her classmates, and bicker with her sister.
She did not need to know that the world possessed another side. She did not have to face its darkness or dangers.
She could continue living an ordinary, peaceful life.
"But this world isn't safe, is it?"
Haruno's muffled voice came from against his chest.
She had already entered the supernatural world and seen the vengeful spirits hidden beyond ordinary people's perception.
They curled up in corners, floated within shadows, and followed pedestrians like hungry beasts waiting for an opportunity to pounce.
Those spirits posed no threat to her, but they were far too dangerous for an ordinary person.
What if a vengeful spirit targeted Yukino one day?
What if Haruno could not reach her in time?
She did not dare continue that train of thought.
"Is it really impossible?"
She raised her head and looked at Genichi, her eyes filled with pleading.
"Please give Yukino one chance."
Her expression was pitiful, like an abandoned puppy.
Genichi knew she was only pretending. This woman had learned at a young age how to use that expression to get what she wanted.
He also knew that he should refuse.
Yukino's personality made her completely unsuited to possessing power.
She could become someone else's weapon. She could be exploited, injured, or even killed.
Giving her power would not help her. It would only harm her.
Yet as Genichi stared into Haruno's eyes, he found himself unable to say no.
He sighed.
"Fine."
Haruno's eyes instantly lit up like two lamps.
"Really?"
"Really, but I'll only give her one chance."
Genichi's voice was calm and serious.
"If she refuses, that will be the end of it. If she accepts but fails to satisfy me, I'll take the power back."
Haruno nodded vigorously, a radiant smile blooming across her face.
"Thank you, Genichi!"
She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Then she sprang out of his arms and hurried away.
When she reached the door, she stopped and looked back at him.
"I'm going to get Yukino right now!"
Genichi watched her disappear through the doorway and listened as her footsteps gradually faded down the corridor. He could not help shaking his head.
That woman really was something else.
He rose and walked to the window, gazing out at the night.
Moonlight poured over the city, bathing everything in a silvery glow.
The distant streetlights cast dim yellow pools across the roads. Cars occasionally passed by, their headlights cutting through the darkness before vanishing into the distance.
Yukino.
Would that proud and aloof girl be willing to drink the blood wine?
Would she entrust her life and death to him?
Would she willingly step into this dangerous world?
Genichi did not know.
However, Haruno had asked him, and he had agreed. He would honor that promise.
As for the outcome, it would depend on Yukino herself.
He turned away from the window, walked over to the table, and took out a bottle of wine and a glass.
The wine he poured into the glass was clear and transparent.
He bit the tip of his finger and let a drop of blood fall into it. The crimson spread through the wine like a blooming red lotus.
Then Genichi sat down on the sofa and waited for the sisters to arrive.
(End of Chapter)
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